Facts

Hard-working librarians have tallied up the favorites among readers in 2013, and "Gone Girl" led the list, with 969 checkouts. That figure represents digital downloads, CD audiobooks and pre-loaded mp3 players as well as old-fashioned print books, noted librarian Margaret Miles.

The top 10 most checked out adult titles were almost all fiction by popular authors in the thriller or mystery genres: "The Forgotten" by David Baldacci (754 checkouts), "The Racketeer" by John Grisham (724), "The Hit" by David Baldacci (605), "Inferno" by Dan Brown (574), "Notorious Nineteen" by Janet Evanovich (545), "Silken Prey" by John Sandford (538), "A Wanted Man" by Lee Child (525), "Merry Christmas, Alex Cross" by James Patterson (505), "A Week in Winter" by Maeve Binchy (497) and "Never Go Back" by Lee Child (482).

The top title in what might be called "literary" fiction – "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" – trailed with 427 checkouts. E.L. James' steamy "Fifty Shades of Grey" was still popular, with 432 checkouts in 2013.

"Killing Kennedy" by TV host Bill O'Reilly ranked as the top nonfiction title in the New Hanover system with 185 checkouts, followed by "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander with 165 and "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail" by Cheryl Strayed with 161.

Suzanne Collins continued to dominate the young adult category. Her dark sci-fi trilogy "The Hunger Games" (548 checkouts), "Catching Fire" (503) and "Mockingjay" (448) held the top three spots on the YA list. Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" came in fourth with 255.

Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel" topped the juvenile charts with 283 checkouts, closely followed by J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with 280. Fans checked out Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" 194 times.

Readers clearly had their "brand" loyalties. Five of the 25 most-checked-out books were by James Patterson. Of the top 10 juvenile titles, four were by Jeff Kinney and four by Rowling.

These top checked-out items, however, represented less than 1 percent of the county system's total circulation, Miles noted. In 2013, Totaling both physical and digital formats, New Han­over County libraries circulated more than 1.35 million books and other items – or slightly more than six items per county resident.

<p>For the second year in a row, Gillian Flynn's dark thriller "Gone Girl" was the single most-checked-out book from the New Hanover County Public Library.</p><p>Hard-working librarians have tallied up the favorites among readers in 2013, and "Gone Girl" led the list, with 969 checkouts. That figure represents digital downloads, CD audiobooks and pre-loaded mp3 players as well as old-fashioned print books, noted librarian Margaret Miles.</p><p>The top 10 most checked out adult titles were almost all fiction by popular authors in the thriller or mystery genres: "The Forgotten" by David Baldacci (754 checkouts), "The Racketeer" by John Grisham (724), "The Hit" by David Baldacci (605), "Inferno" by Dan Brown (574), "Notorious Nineteen" by Janet Evanovich (545), "Silken Prey" by John Sandford (538), "A Wanted Man" by Lee Child (525), "Merry <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/holidays02"><b>Christmas</b></a>, Alex Cross" by James Patterson (505), "A Week in Winter" by Maeve Binchy (497) and "Never Go Back" by Lee Child (482).</p><p>The top title in what might be called "literary" fiction – "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" – trailed with 427 checkouts. E.L. James' steamy "Fifty Shades of Grey" was still popular, with 432 checkouts in 2013.</p><p>"Killing Kennedy" by TV host Bill O'Reilly ranked as the top nonfiction title in the New Hanover system with 185 checkouts, followed by "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander with 165 and "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail" by Cheryl Strayed with 161.</p><p>Suzanne Collins continued to dominate the young adult category. Her dark sci-fi trilogy "The Hunger Games" (548 checkouts), "Catching Fire" (503) and "Mockingjay" (448) held the top three spots on the YA list. Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" came in fourth with 255.</p><p>Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel" topped the juvenile charts with 283 checkouts, closely followed by J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with 280. Fans checked out Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" 194 times.</p><p>Readers clearly had their "brand" loyalties. Five of the 25 most-checked-out books were by James Patterson. Of the top 10 juvenile titles, four were by Jeff Kinney and four by Rowling. </p><p>These top checked-out items, however, represented less than 1 percent of the county system's total circulation, Miles noted. In 2013, Totaling both physical and digital formats, New Han­over County libraries circulated more than 1.35 million books and other items – or slightly more than six items per county resident.</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic14"><b>Ben Steelman</b></a>: 343-2208</p><p>Ben.Steelman@StarNewsOnline.com</p>